Mangala to visit Saudi Arabia

Riyadh: Sri Lankan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Azmi Thassim has said he was making extensive arrangements for the forthcoming visit of Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera to the Kingdom.

“It’s going to be a remarkable visit, since the Foreign Minister’s talks will focus on how best the two countries can cooperate with each other in working toward achieving the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020,” Arab News quoted the Ambassador as saying.

The Ambassador has made these remarks at the 69th anniversary of Independence Day celebrations at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh.

Sri Lanka looks forward to further strengthening bilateral relations, especially in the fields of employment, trade, investment and tourism, he added.

Appreciating the long-standing relationship with Saudi Arabia, Azmi Thassim said Sri Lanka wholeheartedly supports Vision 2030 under the wise leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, and NTP 2020 initiated by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, second deputy premier and defense minister.

“Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, trade and tourism have increased tremendously to the benefit of the people of the two countries,” he said, adding that nearly 38,000 Saudis holidayed in Sri Lanka last year.